A New Kind of Wonder-ful
by chemiglee
Summary: Blaine and Kurt turn a corner. Reaction fic #2 to Wonder-ful, 4.21, and companion to "Not Wonder-ful". For luckyjak on Tumblr. I do not own Glee or its characters. Please read and review! COMPLETE.


**A/N**: The video that Blaine mentions and watches with Kurt is on the Huffington Post website. Search for "Rachel Maddow Celebrates Historic Week in Gay Rights Movement."

I

The atmosphere had subtly shifted. Kurt had felt it when he saw Blaine at his locker on his first day back in Lima, right before his dad's medical appointment. It was a sudden transition from one plane of existence to another, from mere "he's sort of a friend and then he's an ex" to "we are best friends and then maybe." The air was warmer and softer, like a cozy, worn in blanket. And then for some reason there was excitement, too, as if something was coming around the corner? That was it. Breathing the same air had brought them to a higher ground, and a new chapter just opened up in the book of Kurt and Blaine.

It'd been there in the way Blaine had danced with Kurt - so close - chasing after him like a happy puppy, all smiles. It'd been there in their arms, linking together as they'd walked, turning the corner, towards the auditorium. Skin on skin, tender and intimate, in the soft, vulnerable spot just below the crook of the elbow. Kurt had kissed that spot on Blaine, so many times, as the flickering candlelight brushed his bare skin, transformed it to lingering gold; his eyes, the same shade of gold, had been closed, his lips bitten. He remembered how close they had been, how together, when he breathed gently over Blaine's arm and felt the shiver ripple through his flesh.

It was the intimacies that sprang up to mind more and more when he thought of Blaine. But Kurt wasn't distressed or angry when they floated into his mind, the way he might have been months ago, fresh off of Blaine's episode with whoever-it-was. He wasn't even turned on by the memory of Blaine's lithe body over him and under him and his darkly framed bedroom eyes and the soft, wanton promises he'd made under his breath (he swore he wasn't).

There had been a time, back in October or November - Kurt couldn't remember, now - when he'd feel the betrayal choked up in his throat every time he even saw someone on a Manhattan street that looked remotely like Blaine. The fact that he remembered these things now, without pain, with fondness, was a reminder that they had been trusting and close in every way and they could be trusting and close again. Maybe they wouldn't be together like that, ever, physically - maybe? Kurt had eyes and Blaine always looked delicious, tasted delicious - but this time, Kurt wanted to be emotionally close to him first. Just like in their beginning. Even if it was just as good friends.

They had a history, but it was no longer an awkward one. When they would first talk on the phone, or in the Lima Bean, back when Blaine was still at Dalton, Kurt would weigh out every syllable that came out of his perfect, perfect mouth, and hold on to it, like a treasure. He'd so carefully torn out the letters from the magazine - COURAGE - and he'd kept that up in his locker until he graduated. As their relationship got more complicated, they had had so much more to say to each other in a shorter time, and they'd rush - either of them would have to go to different classes, or school, or Kurt would have to go to Vogue. And then, they broke up, and they didn't talk at all. The silence had felt like an immovable boulder, and Kurt knew that if nothing had changed between them, they would have both eaten themselves up by regrets. But now, when they were back to a start, or a fresh start, it was time to breathe and take note of each little thing they would say to each other, because everything they said to each other now was more precious than gold.

II  
Kurt called Blaine at precisely eight o'clock on the evening of the day they'd backed Artie up in singing "For Once In My Life."

"Oh, hey, Kurt!" and Blaine sounded so excited, like it was still a novelty that they were friends again. _I suppose it is_. "What's going on? How's your dad doing?" Kurt could hear a woman talking on Blaine's side of the line, but it gradually dropped in volume as Blaine shifted about, turning his head towards - her? it? He couldn't tell. "There we go. I'm all yours now."

"He's great. He's great. He's with Carole right now. It sounds like they've been up there for hours." He strolled over to the comfy brown couch and fell sinking into its depths, soft and plush like a teddy bear's welcoming hug. _It's safe here in Lima. It's like I never left._

A laugh rippled over the line. "Are you downstairs for sound insulation?"

"Out of sight, out of mind. But if I was in his shoes, I'd do the same thing. What are you up to?"

Blaine let out a small gasp, covered it up with a cough, and tried to sound perfectly normal. "I got addicted to this channel. I even TiVo it now at night for the next day, for after I get home from the Cheerios, or Glee. I'm just trying to catch up right now, actually."

"What are you watching?" Kurt asked curiously. Blaine was always busy. He played video games with Artie and Sam and Brittany (she was a surprisingly good Halo player, according to Blaine), or he shopped with Tina and Marley and Unique, or he was off doing some extracurricular something or other, but he never watched TV. Until now.

"Do you promise not to tell?" Blaine mock-whispered.

"Of course not. I swear it on both Dolce and Gabbana, so you know I'm serious."

"Well - " Blaine always had had a flair for the overdramatic - "I. Love. Rachel. Maddow."

Kurt blinked, then burst out into laughter.

"Rachel Maddow? Oh, that is so _you_!"

Blaine's voice got very perky. Kurt had always found him cute when he was nervous (for a minute there, in the school hallway, Kurt had _known_ that Blaine was trying to ask him out), but he was doubly cute when he was excited. "She's my queen, Kurt. I can't help it. She's brainy and beautiful. She has a PhD in politics from Oxford. I like Lawrence O'Donnell, and Melissa Harris-Perry, but she's my favorite."

Kurt kept his voice light and amused, because he could see Blaine, in his mind's eye, reblogging MSNBC posts on Tumblr late into the night. He suspected his imagination wasn't far off. "She's the only pundit I would never dare to make over. I approve, Blaine, I really do."

"Her opinions are so incisive. She's a first-rate investigative journalist. You just have to listen to her, Kurt, and you'd understand. I'm following all of her series, but her best one is her feature on Don't Ask, Don't Tell... you know, DADT."

"Since you're so interested in her, I'll just have to start watching, too." Kurt smiled warmly and shook his head slightly. He had to. He couldn't withstand the force of nature that was an enthusiastic Blaine - he never could. And Blaine liking Rachel Maddow - this was adorable and funny. He'd have to tell Santana. She'd probably say that Blaine was more of a lesbian than she was.

"Oh, I have to send you this link. Here, I'll do it now - " and Kurt could hear Blaine get up from his couch, away from the TV, and walk over to his computer. He could hear the clicking of his agile fingers over the keys. Blaine's breath got a little heavier and louder as he balanced the phone between his jaw and his shoulder. "There you are. We'll watch it together. It's from a month ago, but it's so topical for right now."

_Not so weird that I know what he's doing even though we're not in the same room._

Kurt logged into his own laptop, opened his Twitter and clicked the link. They both went silent. She was a hell of a storyteller. They listened together, in comfortable silence, to both Rachel Maddows talk about a picture of the universe, filled with stars; and the activists who occupied City Hall in New York City in 1971, and Corporal Andrew Wilford's sacrifice, and Edie Windsor suing the Supreme Court for Thea Spyer's estate.

"Skim milk marriages," Kurt said thoughtfully, eight minutes later. "I ship her with Ruth Bader Ginsburg now."

It was Blaine's turn to laugh. "Aren't they both great? I really feel like we're on the edge of winning more for gay rights. I hope that we'll see legal marriage in Ohio soon - your dad's really leading the charge. And it's all because of you. You're amazing."

He cleared his throat just then. There was a shift in tone that went with the slight change of subject, but Kurt felt the next words get heavier, too: "Wouldn't you take advantage of that, when it happens - marriage, I mean?"

"Of course I would. I want all of that someday. I hope it'll be a happy marriage - I want it to be forever - and we'd have children. A boy and a girl. You know all of that."

There was a pause on Blaine's side of the line. "I do, too. You know all of that. This sounds kind of dumb to ask, but... you'd let me go to your wedding, right?"

Kurt was taken aback. "Wait... why would you think you wouldn't be there? Of course you're going to be there."

Blaine swallowed. _Why is he so nervous_? Kurt decided not to embarrass him. "That wouldn't be for a long time yet," he said blithely, as if they weren't talking about something they'd talked about before so many times. "The perfect wedding will take so long to plan. And I'd have to be dating someone seriously, already, to get married anytime soon."

"You're not dating anyone now?"

That question, oh so casually put, had an uptilt of tone at the end, making it sound oddly hopeful. Kurt felt anticipation curl up in his chest and purr. He waited, and it felt eager. "Not seriously, no."

"That's cool... that's cool. Hey - oh, I've got calculus homework to finish, unfortunately. I'd rather be doing... uh, I'd rather be talking to you, but - "

"Don't worry," Kurt said. He felt vaguely disappointed - he surprised himself by noting just how hopeful he'd gotten. "I've got to see how my dad is doing here in a minute, and cook some dinner ... that is, if they're finished."

"Come up to school tomorrow for Glee practice. We can go to the Lima Bean afterwards, just you and me. We don't get many chances to talk by ourselves, and we'll be so busy this next week with the others, practicing for Regionals."

Kurt's eyelashes fluttered. He couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Is this a date?"

"It could," Blaine said very, very carefully. "If you want it to be."

The silence felt meaningful. "I... might like that."

"Sounds more than good to me." It sounded like Blaine had let out a sigh.

"Until then," Kurt said lightly, "you'll have to be happy with Rachel Maddow's company. I know I'm not as _brainy_ or _beautiful_ as she is, but - "

"Oh, Kurt. You're both. And I'd take you to the Lima Bean any day over her, even if she begged me. Even if she paid for my coffee."

He chuckled. "Now that's high praise. I'll... I'll talk to you tomorrow and set a time."

"Sure. Oh, and Kurt..."

"Yes?"

"I've really missed you. I'm glad you'll be around for the week."

"Me too."

They both hung up. Kurt dropped the phone into his lap, and he couldn't help himself. He hugged himself tight and did a little seated jig into his couch cushions. _They had a date._ He decided to mull over it later, after dinner, and weigh out all the words and meanings, because he couldn't help but feel as if this conversation was, all of a sudden, very, very important.


End file.
